205/60/15 on rear of RT

[Wrongway]

Just wondering if anyone has tried a 205/60/15 on the back of their Spyder.
I know it's narrower than the stock tire but percentage wise it's actually a closer fit than the 215/60/15 according to the comparison chart from 1010 tires.

I'm asking because the 215 is so much taller than stock and the 205 has a much larger selection as well.

I'd love to hear feedback for those who ride 2 up with the 215/60/15 General Altimax on their RT.

thanks
Greg

[SPYD3R]

not much diff from the 205 to the 215....




Current Tire Size: / R
New Tire Size: / R

Side by side Overlay

	205/60-15	215/60-15	Difference
Diameter inches (mm)	24.69 (627)	25.16 (639)	0.47 (12) 1.9%
Width inches (mm)	8.07 (205)	8.46 (215)	0.39 (10) 4.9%
Circum. inches (mm)	77.55 (1969.78)	79.03 (2007.48)	1.48 (37.7) 1.9%
Sidewall Height inches (mm)	4.84 (123)	5.08 (129)	0.24 (6) 4.9%
Revolutions per mile (km)	817.02 (507.67)	801.67 (498.14)	-15.34 (-9.53) -1.9%

i'm running the 215 in the rear, and i find it to be far better in every way.... maybe because it's a Michelon Hydro-Edge...
Dan P
SPYD3R

[BajaRon]

I would go with the larger diameter tire. The OEM tire gives you an optimistically high speedometer reading. And that is brand new. As it wears things get worse.

The 215 brings much more accuracy to the speedo and a larger diameter tire will wear longer and ride a little better as well.

Plus, the 215 puts more rubber on the road. Which the Spyder needs.

[Wrongway]

I would not go to a smaller diameter tire. The OEM tire already gives you an optimistically high speedometer reading. And that is brand new. As it wears things get worse.

The 215 brings much more accuracy to the speedo and a larger diameter tire will wear longer and ride a little better as well.

Plus, the 215 puts more rubber on the road. Which the Spyder needs.

I guess the main thing I worry about with the 215 is the clearance with the larger diameter.
I followed a couple for a whole day on a spyder and every time they went over a bump or railway tracks, something sounded like it was bottoming out.
When the group stopped for a break, I didn't want to ask him about the bottoming out but he asked me if I could hear it. Of course I told him I heard it.
He said the previous owner had put a car tire on it and that was the problem. I was new with the spyder and never thought to ask him what size the tire was.

I like the idea of using the General Altimax because it's actually a tire that I've investigated using on our SUV when we replace the tires and it gets really good reviews.

I guess what I need is to hear from people who ride 2 up alot who have used the 215 on an RT.

Maybe I'll edit my post to include asking for feedback on the 215.

[Highwayman2013]

We used a 215/60/15 Michelin on our 2012 RT and it never rubbed or bottomed out in 23,000 miles. I just had a 215/60/15 General Altimax put on our 2016 F3L and it does not bottom out or rub. Maybe the couple you were following had something loose or no air in the rear suspension.

[Wrongway]

We used a 215/60/15 Michelin on our 2012 RT and it never rubbed or bottomed out in 23,000 miles. I just had a 215/60/15 General Altimax put on our 2016 F3L and it does not bottom out or rub. Maybe the couple you were following had something loose or no air in the rear suspension.

Thanks, you just reminded me. His was a 2014 base RT. I asked him how much air pressure he had in the rear suspension and he said that he had no idea.
His wife is pretty small (wasn't sure how to be politically correct on that one)

[Highwayman2013]

Thanks, you just reminded me. His was a 2014 base RT. I asked him how much air pressure he had in the rear suspension and he said that he had no idea.
His wife is pretty small (wasn't sure how to be politically correct on that one)

Many have run that size and have not had a problem. It's only 5.4% larger diameter.

[AeroPilot]

QUOTES "I followed a couple for a whole day on a spyder and every time they went over a bump or railway tracks, something sounded like it was bottoming out.
When the group stopped for a break, I didn't want to ask him about the bottoming out but he asked me if I could hear it. Of course I told him I heard it."


Like Highwayman said, the air bag suspension on the rear may be empty. Many folks forget to check the air in the rear bag (shrader valve under the seat on the right side). While at Red Rocks Rally, we checked a 2012 RT, and the pressure on the rear bag was 0 psi. It rode a lot better (according to the passenger) after we put about 50 psi in the bag.
Just be careful when adding air to not clamp a high volume hose on the valve stem as you could possibly blow out the bag. The bike did rise up rather quickly with a quick shot of air from the hose. Probably Lamonsters portable air pump, or a portable air tank with pressure limited to 40-50 psi would be a safer bet.

[Peter Aawen]

I've been running a 225/60R15 Kumho KH17 on the rear of my 2013 RT for about 40,000 kms now, & the ONLY time it's ever rubbed on the wheel arch was when the air-bag leaked & the spring alone couldn't hold the weight of the RT rear end off the top of the tire... I reckon AeroPilot is right, that fella with the noisy RT didn't have any air in his air-bag. You shouldn't have any troubles running a 215/60R15, especially not one that many (hundreds? Maybe even thousands???) of others have no issues at all running!

[cruisinTX]

this tire size question raises another question for me (total newbie). I've read that the speedometers are off a bit with the OEM tires. What percentage is that error? The RT Limited we recently acquired will be needing a new tire by spring time and I would like to make a well informed purchase.

[Highwayman2013]

Our 2012 RT was off about 3 mph according to the GPS and the 215/60/15 rear tire put it within 1 mph of the GPS.

[cruisinTX]

Our 2012 RT was off about 3 mph according to the GPS and the 215/60/15 rear tire put it within 1 mph of the GPS.

at what speed; 70? 75?

[Highwayman2013]

at what speed; 70? 75?

Pretty much across the range.

[KX5062]

Just wondering if anyone has tried a 205/60/15 on the back of their Spyder.
I know it's narrower than the stock tire but percentage wise it's actually a closer fit than the 215/60/15 according to the comparison chart from 1010 tires.

I'm asking because the 215 is so much taller than stock and the 205 has a much larger selection as well.

I'd love to hear feedback for those who ride 2 up with the 215/60/15 General Altimax on their RT.

thanks
Greg

I've done it. No issue other than it was a little hard to mount onto the rim because of the narrowness of the tire. It ran and performed okay with no issues. I currently run the 215 and it works perfectly well too and is more appropriate due to the rim sizing.

[AeroPilot]

this tire size question raises another question for me (total newbie). I've read that the speedometers are off a bit with the OEM tires. What percentage is that error? The RT Limited we recently acquired will be needing a new tire by spring time and I would like to make a well informed purchase.

We have noticed that the OEM size 225/50 tire runs about 3% high to the actual GPS measure ground speed. Currently have a Kumho 225/50 on the back of the 15 RT and going down the road with cruise and the speedo says 68 mph while the GPS will indicate 66 mph. The wifes F3T just got a General Altimax RT43 in 215/60 size and she will show 67 mph when we run together so within 1 mph of the actual speed while I am 2 mph over. No tickets lately, although my wife warns me on the Sena when I miss the speed reduction signs coming into small towns. Last time we were stopped, I missed the reduction to 35 mph and the local constable said... "Maam, you can go on, Its HIM I'm after!" Just a warning!

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

The only thing you lose with the larger diameter is performance & handling

[Highwayman2013]

The only thing you lose with the larger diameter is performance & handling

Really? I haven’t noticed any loss.

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

Really? I haven’t noticed any loss.

the smaller the sidewall the greater the handling and response time on all vehicles/tires.

[MikeT]

if there's a concern with "fitting under the rear fender" look @ 205/55R15. Same height as OEM. Just a tad narrower. Yokohama S Drive is used by many spyder riders. The OEM size by Kuhmo or Toyo will fit for sure. If speed matching GPS to Speedo is the concern the 215/60R15 gets them the closest.

[BajaRon]

The only thing you lose with the larger diameter is performance & handling

Technically true. But I am not sure how much real life difference there is. Especially when you consider you're going from a very wimply sidewall/tread area car tire to a real car tire. It would be interesting to see how much real world agility you actually lose with this swap.

[Highwayman2013]

Technically true. But I am not sure how much real life difference there is. Especially when you consider you're going from a very wimply sidewall/tread area car tire to a real car tire. It would be interesting to see how much real world agility you actually lose with this swap.

I would think most people could not decern a difference. I really feel more secure in the corners with the 215/60/15. But side by side comparison is probably the only way to truly tell.

[Peter Aawen]

Technically true. But I am not sure how much real life difference there is. Especially when you consider you're going from a very wimply sidewall/tread area car tire to a real car tire. It would be interesting to see how much real world agility you actually lose with this swap.

I've done a fair whack of testing on tires over the years, using tracks & facilities that are designed to highlight the tiny differences there may be between otherwise close to identical tires from different manufacturers, & after doing similar back to back testing on the Spyder & various tires, never before have I seen such a marked difference between an OE Spec tire and every a/mkt replacement that we've tried (& btw, that's even before we got into the top end performance tires!!) so much so that I'm absolutely & unequivocably convinced that the one word answer to that question above can only because NONE!

In fact, your Spyders' responsivenes & agility is most likely to only IMPROVE SIGNIFICANTLY by fitting a car tire, even if that car tire does have a taller profile than the OE tires!!? And the agility is likely to improve even more so if you replace the OE Spec Kendas all round & fit better quality stronger car tires up front too! And as you suspected Ron, this is all pretty much due to the stiffer sidewalls & tread on the car tires, the greater contact patch that enables, & the better transfer of road forces into the chassis that's enabled by a tire that is constructed to do that a LOT more than the lightly constructed OE Spec limp dishrags that BRP tries to convince us are actually 'special tires' will ever do!

Altho if asked are the Kendas are 'Special', the answer must be absobloodylutely!! Special at being mediocre, special at flexing WAAAYYY too much & letting the contact patch lift during cornering, special at underperforming in so many ways so much that it degrades the capabilities of our machines significantly!!! There's a perfectly good reason that the overwhelming majority of Ryders who do make the move to better quality car tires never even consider going back to the OE Spec Kendas, and it ain't (just) cos the car tires are frequently cheaper as well as longer lasting either!